The new year is a time when a lot of people decide that they’re ready to make big changes. The holidays are a great time of celebration, and the new year that follows often winds up feeling like an exciting new beginning. As such, many individuals take advantage of this feeling of potential, and make resolutions to change or improve a behavior that dissatisfies them. Maybe it’s diet-related, or maybe it’s something as simple as watching a bit less TV. Many of us make resolutions, however, and a lot of them revolve around addictive habits like smoking. In fact, the resolution to quit smoking is probably one of the most popular every January, but it’s also one of the easiest commitments to break. Nicotine addiction can be a pretty powerful things, and we can sometimes use a break just about anywhere we might be able to get one when we’re trying to truly kick a serious habit. These five smartphone applications will give you a little help kicking that nicotine addiction in 2013.

1. MyQuit Coach. Lance Armstrong might not be doing so well in the trust department, but his LiveStrong fitness brand certainly did a good job cranking out a lot of materials and products related to health and self-improvement. The MyQuit Coach app is available for both iOS and Android operating systems and is free, too. It’ll help you by creating a personalized plan that monitors your progress and lets you know how well you’re doing by giving you things like achievement badges.

2. My Last Cigarette. This app is geared towards really building your motivation when you’re actually getting ready to quit. It’ll start you off by gathering all your data and information, and then it’ll tell you things like how many years you’re going to add to your life by kicking that awful habit.

3. Quit Smoking Pro. Quit Smoking doesn’t really mess around when it comes to its functionality: it’s going to help you do exactly what it sounds like it’s going to help you do. It’ll ask you how stressed you are and how strong your urge is every time you crave a cigarette. It’ll use this information to help you quit the most efficient way possible.

4 . KickSmoking.KickSmoking is a great app that helps you focus on your goals and your progress as a way of diverting your attention from how badly you’re wanting to smoke a cigarette. Even the most convenient online smoke shop will be no match for your willpower after using an app like this one.

5. QuitNow!Support is often a huge part of doing something as tough as quitting your nicotine habit, and QuitNow! aims to integrate this part of the process by giving you what amounts to a chat room where users can talk about their experiences and help each other overcome that habit.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.